Automatic starter



Nov. .6, 1934. B H KRYzE-R 1,979,836

AUTOMATIC STARTER Filed March 14, 1952 3 17. Kr yzer.

Patented Nov. 6, 1934 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to automatic starters for internal combustion engines.

In the ordinary type of automatic starter for automotive engines, power is applied to the starting motor by manually closing the ignition switch, which permits current to flow through a battery magnet and close the battery circuit to the starting motor. A generator magnet in the generator circuit and battery magnet circuit opens the circuit through the battery magnet after the motor has started to interrupt the battery circuit to the starting motor. Should the speed of the engine become reduced to near the stalling point, or should the engine stop, the generator magnet becomes demagnetized, the circuit through the battery magnet is reestablished and the battery circuit is immediately closed to the starting motor, thus again applying power to the starting motor to start the engine.

In automatic starter systems of this kind no provision has hitherto been made for rendering the system non-automatic so that the motor may be cranked when the battery is weak andthe engine cold. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a normally closed auxiliary switch independent of the ignition switch and adapted to be manually opened after the ignition switch is closed, to maintain the battery circuit through the battery magnet open until the engine has been started by cranking, whereupon the auxiliary switch may be closed to render the system automatic.

Moreover, in ordinary automatic starter systems, no provision has hitherto been made for rendering the system inoperative when the car is in gear. Consequently should the engine stall while in gear the automatic starter will immediately begin to function, the result being a broken Bendix spring or a stripped Bendix drive due to the hard pull the starting motor encounters while the car is in gear. It is therefore, a further obiect of this invention to provide a cut out switch operated by the gear shift lever and maintaining the battery circuit through the battery magnet open when the gear shift lever is in any position except neutral, so that the motor cannot be started when in gear, either after the motor has been initially started or in the event the driver accidentally leaves the car in gear and closes the ignition switch to start the motor while the car is in gear.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel generator magnet having a series coil and a shunt coil, the latter operating to energize the 55 generator magnet initially and the series coil acting to take up theload when the engine starts to maintain the subsequent operation of the generator magnet, the supply of current to the ignition devices of the motor, and supply of current to charge the battery, the shunt wiring being found in practice to promote economy in wiring and in current.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the main circuits and the apparatus embodying my invention,

Figure 2 is a detail sectional view through the gear shift lever cut out switch, and

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 2.

Referring now to the drawing, in which like characters of reference designate similar parts in the various views, the apparatus includes a starting motor 10 adapted to be connected in any desired manner with the shaft of an internal combustion engine, a generator 11, such as is commonly used in connection with internal combustion engines, and a storage battery 12 for supplying current to the ignition system and the starting motor when starting the engine.

The battery magnet 13 is provided with a spring-retracted armature 14 which constitutes a make and break switch in the battery circuit to the starting motor designated by the circuit wires 15, 16 and 17. One end of the winding of the battery coil is connected to the battery by a conductor wire 18 in which there is located a resistor 19, and a normally closed manually operated auxiliary switch 20, the switch being connected by' a conductor wire 21 to the low tension conductor wire 22 which supplies the distributor of the motor, beyond the ignition switch 23, which is connected to the conductor wire 15 by a con- .ductor wire 24. The other end of the winding of the battery coil is connected by a conductor wire 25 to a spring retracted armature 26 which forms a make and break switch and is in the held of the generator magnet 27. The armature 26 is normally held by its spring against a contact 28 which is connected by a conductor wire 29 with a cut out switch, designated in general by the series winding 33 of comparatively large mire which is connected to the generator at one end by a conductor wire 34 and at the opposite end is connected to a=, spring-retracted armature 35 which is normally held spaced from a contact 36 which is connected by a conductor wire 37 to the battery conductor, wire 15. The generator magnet is also provided with a secondary or shunt winding 38 of relatively small wire, one end of which is connected to the conductor wire 34 from the generator and the opposite end of which is grounded as shown at 39. Both the series coil and the shunt coil are wound in the same direction as shown.

When the ignition switch 23 is manually closed current will flow from the battery 12 through the coil of the battery magnet 13, through the armature 26 of the generator magnet, through the wire 29 and through the cut out switch 30 which is normally closed when the gear shift lever 31 is in neutral. As a result, the battery magnet 13 is energized and attracts its armature 14 to close the circuit from the battery 12 through the wires 16 and-l7 to the starting motor. After the engine has started current will flow from the generator through the winding of the generator magnet 27 and attract the armature 26 to open the battery circuit through the winding of the battery magnet, at the contact 28, whereupon the battery magnet is deenergized and permits the armature 14 to be retracted by its controlling spring and open the battery circuit to the starting motor at the contact 32, said battery circuit being maintained open as long as the motor is running to supply the generator magnet 27 with current from the generator. However, should the speed of the engine be reduced to near the stalling point, or should the engine stop, the flow of current from the generator through the winding of the generator magnet 27 will be so reduced as to permit the tension of the controlling spring of the armature 26 to overcome the attraction of the core of said magnet and permit the spring to withdraw the armature and again establish the circuit from the battery through the battery magnet at the contact 28 whereupon the armature 14 will be attracted by the battery magnet 13 and close the battery circuit to the starting motor at the contact 32 to again start the engine.

When the generator starts, current flows through the wire 34, through the shunt coil 38 to the ground and back to the generator. The armature 26 is then attracted to the core of thegenerator magnet 27 and breaks the circuit through the battery magnet at the contact 28. The armature 35 is simultaneously attracted and closes the circuit through the conductor Wire 34 from the generator, series coil 33 of the generator magnet, armature 35, contact 36, and conductor wire 37, to charge the battery and simultaneously supply current through the wire 22 to the distributor.

Since the shunt coil 38 is formed of small wire, preferably capable of carrying only about onetenth of an ampere, it will not bleed the generator circuit and current will'continue to flow through the coil 33 of large wire, as just described. Should the generator slow down so that its voltage becomes less than that of the battery, because of the demagnetizing effect of reverse current from the battery, the shunt coil 38 will deenergize the generator magnet. The controlling spring of the armature 35 then withdraws the armature from the contact 36 and breaks the circuit to the battery thus preventing back feed I and preventing the use of the generator as a motor with resultant discharge of the battery.

In practice, the armature 26 should be adjusted more closely than the armature 35, so that the armature 35 will leave the, core of its magnet at about one ampere, while the armature 26 will leave the core of its magnet at about one-tenth desired to render-the system non-automatic and permit the motor to be cranked when the battery is weak or the motor is cold. This switch may be of anypreferred character, it being simply preferable in:the practice of the invention that a switch of somejtype be interpolated in the bat tery magnet circui't to render the battery magnet inoperative "to control the battery circuit to the starter, through the armature 14, at predetermined times.

By referring more particularly to Figures 2 and 3 it will be seen that the gear shift lever cut-out switch 30 comprises a suitable casing 40 which may be bolted or otherwise secured. as shown at 41, to a convenient support 42 contiguous to the gear shift lever, the casing being open at one side and closed by a removable cap 43. The opposite side of the casing is provided with an arcuate slot 44 through which a pin 45 integral with the gear shift lever 31 enters the casing.

A metal disk 46 is mounted on a suitable shaft 47 and is provided with an elongated slot 48 which extends at substantially right angles to the slot 44 in the casing and receives the pin 45. Whenever the gear shift lever 31 is moved the pin 45 rocks the disk 46 on the shaft 47. The disk is provided in its peripheral edge at the bottom with a pair of spaced insulating blocks 49 and 50 as best shown in Figure 2.

A spring contact 51 is disposed within the easing and terminates in a brush.52 which rides on the peripheral edge of the disk and when the gear shift lever is in neutral, is positioned on the metal periphery of the disk between the insulating blocks 49 and 50. The contact is connected to the conductor wire 29, shown in Figure 1, which is attached to a binding post 53 that is insulated from the wall of the casing by means of a bushing 54. The contact 51 is also insulated from the casing by means of insulating strips 55 and 56.

When the gear shift lever 31 is moved to operative position, that s, either forward or reverse, either the insulating block 49 or the insulating block-50 will be moved to position upon the brush 52 of the contact and break the circuit through the wire 29 and grounded disk so that the battery magnet will be rendered inoperative to close the battery circuit to the starting motor. However, when the gear shift lever is moved to neutral position the brush 52 will, as best shown in Figure 2, be disposed upon the metal periphery of the disk 46 and will reestablish the circuit from the wire 29 to the ground so that thebattery circause the car to lurch forward when in gear. Damage to the Bendix spring and drive is also prevented which ordinarily is caused by automatic starters functioning to throw a heavy load on the starting motor when the car is in gear.

The usual pedal starter switch 57 is shown diagrammatically in Figure 1, while the ammeter is shown diagrammatically at 58 to complete the diagrammatic illustrationof the circuit wiring and apparatus included in my invention.

From the above description, it is thought that the construction and operation of my invention will be thoroughly understood without further explanation,

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. An automatic starter for internal combustion engines comprising a starting motor adapted to be operatively connected with an engine shaft, a generator adapted to be driven from the engine, an'electric battery, a battery magnet arranged in circuit with said battery, a movable armature within the field of said magnet in circuit with said battery and said motor and forming a make and break switch yieldably held open, a generator magnet, a movable armature within the magnetic field of said generator magnet in circuit with the battery and the battery magnet and yieldably held closed, a distributor circuit, an ignition switch adapted to simultaneously close the distributor circuit and the circuit to the battery magnet, a second armature in the field of the generator magnet mechanically independent from'the first armatureand in circuit with the generator and with the battery and forming a make and break switch yieldably held open and connected between the battery and generator a series winding on the generator magnet connected to the gen erator andthe second armature, and a shunt coil of small wire wound with the series winding of the generator magnet and grounded and performing the dual function of initially energizing the generator magnet and deenergizing said magnet to prevent back feed through said armature from the battery.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 having a manually operated switch interposed between the ignition switch and battery magnetwhereby the battery magnet may be rendered inoperative by opening the switch and the engine cranked.

3. The structure set forth in claim 1 having a shift lever controlled switch interposed between the first armature of the generator magnet and the battery and serving to interrupt fiow of current when the shift lever is moved out of neutral position.

4. The structure set forth in claim 1 having a manually operated switch interposed between the ignition switch and battery magnet whereby the battery magnet may be rendered inoperative by opening the switchand the engine cranked, and a shift. lever controlled switch interposed between the first armature of the generator magnet and the battery and serving to interrupt flow of current when the shift lever is moved out of neutral position.

BENJAMIN H. KRYZER. [L. s.] 

